


The Night Grows Longer Now

by astudyinfic



Series: Holidays 2020 [26]
Category: A Charm of Magpies Series - K. J. Charles
Genre: Good King Wencesalas, M/M, Stolen Moments, song lyrics...sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28357158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astudyinfic/pseuds/astudyinfic
Summary: The night before the sail east, Stephen reflects on what he is giving up and what he gets to keep.
Relationships: Stephen Day/Lucien Vaudrey
Series: Holidays 2020 [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2036116
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	The Night Grows Longer Now

**Author's Note:**

> **Day 26: Winter**
> 
> Prompts can be found [here](https://astudyinfic.tumblr.com/post/635866337200259072/decided-it-was-time-for-a-new-holiday-prompt-list).

Lucien stood at the window, a silhouette, nothing more, lit from the light from the street below. The snow swirled outside as the air blew it off the roof and Stephen shivered despite not feeling the chill. He remembered the nights before Lucien, when he could hardly keep his small room heated, with all the drafts and cold. Curled beneath too thin blankets with no warmth to hope for until arriving in the office the next morning. Or just staying in the office all night, because at least there, he had fuel for the fire. 

Not much, but more than he normally had at home. 

In the morning, they would set sail for China, for a new life and a new land. Lucien and Merrick had been busy all day with the final preparations, sorting out the last of the Crane business that could not be handled from abroad. Stephen and Saint had been doing the same, closing out any small jobs they still had. Neither had many ties to England anymore. The only thing that would keep him here was Esther and she practically kicked him out in the hopes of getting him to do something for himself for a change. 

So, they were leaving England and Stephen didn’t know if he would ever return. It was a strange thought but not one that gave him much distress anymore. Almost entirely because of the man standing in front of him, still unaware that he had an audience. 

“Do they normally sail for the east in the dead of winter?” Stephen asked, stepping into the room. The ship was leaving tomorrow so obviously, they did but it seemed strange to Stephen that they would leave during the worst weather of the year. 

Lucien turned and shrugged with as much grace as he did everything else. Even when fighting for his life, he had a way of holding himself that drew Stephen in, like a moth to the flame. “It takes so long to get there, they would only be able to leave for two months out of the year to avoid sailing during the winter, my sweet. The weather is mild compared to some winters that I have seen. We will be fine.”

Which wasn’t the question Stephen asked but was the one he meant all the same. Lucien had a way of doing that and Stephen didn’t know if that was the Magpie Lord’s bond between them or Lucien simply knowing him well enough at this point to know what he was truly asking. 

“Hither, page, and stand beside me,” Lucien called and Stephen smiled despite himself. He stepped closer to his lover and let Lucien wrap his arms around him forcing Stephen to look out over the city that he had called home for so many years now. 

Leaning back in his arms, Stephen admired the way the city sparkled in the moonlight, the snow and frost casting an otherworldly aura over all of London. “Brightly shone the moon that night, thou the frost was cruel,” he sang softly under his breath.

How appropriate that they would be leaving the day after St. Stephen’s Day. It had come to mean something to the two of them, even if it was more joke than serious. It was something for Stephen and Lucien that the world couldn’t have, couldn’t take away. 

“Bring me flesh and bring me wine,” Lucien murmured in response, dipping his head to kiss at the sensitive skin of Stephen’s neck. Stephen tilted his head to the side, giving his lover access to do what he would. “I’m sorry we couldn’t be at Rothwell this year.” The year prior, at the hunting lodge, it felt that the four of them truly became a family. Stephen loved the place and it was one of the things he regretted leaving behind. 

“It would have been impractical.” Stephen knew that and wasn’t going to argue. The ship sailed on the twenty-seventh, so they had to be here that day. They’d spent a comfortable Christmas together and would spend this evening alone in their room to celebrate their own private holiday. Stephen couldn’t ask for more than that, not when he had Lucien’s hands running over his body, his lips on his skin, and his heart in Stephen’s hands. Because that was what he had realized. Home wasn’t London. It wasn’t England. It wasn’t even this ridiculously large house that was too much, even for the four of them. 

Home was the man holding him close, whispering filthy things in his ear, and taking him halfway around the world so that they might live their lives free. Free from the scandal and the whispered and the secrets that ran rampant through all of England. It would only take one hint to a copper of indecency to bring their lives down around their ears. In the east, they could live as they were, share their lives together, and Saint and Merrick could do the same. 

It was all Stephen wanted, he knew. 

“Take me to bed,” he whispered, turning in Lucien’s arms to pull him down for a true kiss. 

Lucien finally released his hold and took a step back, eyes beckoning Stephen closer. His magic began to undress Lucien as they moved towards the bed and didn’t stop, even as Stephen’s own breath hitched as Lucien continued to sing. “Mark my footsteps, good my page. Tread thou in them boldly. Thou shall find the winter’s rage. Freeze thy blood less coldly.”

The wind could bluster, the cold could cut, but nothing would chill Stephen’s blood again. Not while he had Lucien Vaudrey in his bed, in his arms, and in his heart. Stephen’s grin grew more seductive and he stepped into Lucien’s reach, looking forward to what came next. 

Both that night, and all the nights to come.


End file.
